Fighter jet pilot in western Virginia crash confirmed dead

THURSDAY UPDATE: The pilot of an F-15C Eagle fighter jet was confirmed dead Thursday night after a crash near Deerfield the day before that led to a search by officials with various local, state and federal agencies.

The name of the pilot will not be released until after family members are notified, officials with the Barnes Air National Guard Base's 104th Fighter Wing said in a news release.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and we are doing all we can to support them during this very difficult time,” Col. James Keefe, commander of the 104th Fighter Wing, said in the release. “We ask that everyone respect the privacy of the family and allow them the time they need to grieve."

Leaders are putting together an official safety investigation board and conduting an investigation into the crash, the release stated.

The search for the pilot drew 150 people from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, Augusta County Fire and Rescue, Deerfield Fire Department, Churchville Fire Department, Swope Fire Department, Virginia State Police, Virginia National Guard, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, FBI, U.S. Border and Customs Enforcement, Maryland State Police Aviation, Indiana National Guard, Massachusetts Air National Guard, New Jersey National Guard, Alabama National Guard, West Virginia National Guard and the U.S. Air Force, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.

WEDNESDAY: An F15 fighter jet crashed in the Shenandoah Valley Wednesday morning, leading to a multi-agency search for the pilot, officials said.

The jet, headed from Barnes Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts to Naval Air Station New Orleans for a radar system upgrade, lost radio contact with air traffic controllers in Washington, D.C., about 9:05 a.m., according to a news release from Lt. Anthony Mutti with Barnes Air National Guard Base’s 104th Fighter Wing.

The jet crashed near Deerfield in Augusta County, which is near the state’s border with West Virginia, Mutti said. Officials at Barnes said there were no munitions on the aircraft.

Officials in Massachusetts received word of the crash about half an hour after losing contact with the pilot once local law enforcement officials responded to the scene, the release stated.

Before losing contact, the pilot of the jet, who was on a solo mission, reported an inflight emergency, and reports later surfaced of dark smoke in the area the jet was last seen, base officials said.

Officials with the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard, local fire and police, Virginia State Police and federal agencies are conducting a search for the pilot, who crashed in a “densely wooded and mountainous” area, the release stated.

The crash remains under investigation, although the jet was not connected with the Langley Air Force Base, spokeswoman Sgt. Stephanie Plichta told the Daily Press.